


The night sky

by moocowpong1



Category: Hades (Video Game 2018)
Genre: F/F, Grief/Mourning
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-15
Updated: 2021-02-15
Packaged: 2021-03-16 04:41:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 789
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29447940
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/moocowpong1/pseuds/moocowpong1
Summary: Just a scene of Persephone in her garden, thinking about Nyx.
Relationships: Nyx & Persephone (Hades Video Game)
Comments: 1
Kudos: 16





	The night sky

"Gods, I am *tired*," Persephone groaned as she flopped into her cot. Despite the snowy landscape mere yards away, it was warm in her garden, as always. But as the last rays of sunset dwindled from the sky overhead and the stars began to twinkle through, she couldn't sleep.

It had been a long day working in the garden, she reflected, but it was more than that. At first this place had been a haven for her, freedom, as it were, from the oppressive silences of the House of Hades. From his once-passionate eyes, robbed of their fire, unable to meet her gaze. From the grief that seemed to seep into every dark stone of that place and threatened to stifle her very breath. And while she could never truly escape her grief, this place at least let her quiet it for a time with the hard work of tilling and planting and coaxing life out of the frozen earth.

As time went by, the grief that once threatened to overwhelm her had slowly, slowly changed - from a piercing pain to a dull ache, and then to a leaden weight that settled in the depths of her heart. She sighed. Now, she realized, it had transformed again, into a deep longing. How long had it been since she'd seen another person's face? It was hard to say for sure - the endless winter made each day, each month blend together with the next. Was it time to end her self-imposed isolation? She wondered. Could she just go back -

Her heart seized at the thought. No. No no no. Panic spread like killing frost through her veins. No no no no no. She couldn't go back. Not now, not ever. Not a chance. Tears trickled from the corners of her eyes as she willed her heart to stop racing. She cried out into the night air, but the only reply was a cool breeze that gently stirred the leaves of the garden's trees.

It was not long until the panic left her, but the longing remained. She missed them deeply, all of them - Achilles' quiet, care-heavy voice, Cerberus's warm, unguarded affection, and even Hypnos's antics. She found her thoughts lingering, though, on Nyx.

When Persephone had first arrived in the House of Hades, she'd found Nyx distant, and had mistaken her formality for coldness. But when she had struggled to adapt to life in the Underworld, she had come to Nyx with her problems. She'd quickly discovered not only Nyx's wisdom, but her deep love and untiring kindness. Nyx would always seem to know exactly what she needed to hear. Especially during her pregnancy, Nyx's presence had made many a difficult night bearable. She even - 

Her heart jumped, and Persephone hastily retreated from that thought. Not yet. But... after... that had happened, Nyx's understanding and sympathy had been the only thing that soothed her pain. She wondered, not for the first time, if Nyx, too, had ever lost a child. Nyx had been the one who handled the arrangements for Persephone's escape, dealing with Charon and using her magic to conceal Persephone and this garden. She had understood implicitly Persephone's need to escape, to go anywhere else, and she hadn't thought twice before placing Persephone's needs before her own.

Persephone reached out and plucked a violet from a nearby flowerbed, and twirled it gently in her fingers. Her heart ached with longing, for Nyx's calm, reassuring voice, for her loving embrace. Nyx had almost been enough reason to stay. Almost... but Persephone had chosen this isolation instead. Had chosen to be alone.

But she wasn't really alone, was she?

Persephone had come to know Nyx's human form, certainly, but Nyx was ancient, older even than Hades and the Olympians, as old as creation itself. Nyx was the night itself. Persephone reached out, raising the violet towards the starry sky above her. The night surrounded her. Surely, that meant that Nyx was with her, too?

"Nyx," she said aloud. She felt a little silly for a moment. "If you can hear me?"

"Just -" Her voice was suddenly thick with emotion. "Just know, that I miss you." After a moment, she added quietly, "And I love you."

As if in answer, the trees rustled, and the night air swirled into a sudden gust of wind, which snatched the violet from her fingertips and carried it away before settling over her like a cool blanket.

Persephone smiled, and finally slept.

*****

"That's an lovely flower you're wearing tonight. Er, today?" Achilles asked quietly. "I haven't seen one like it since I came from the surface."

"It was a gift," Nyx smiled as she adjusted the violet in her hair. "From someone very dear to me."


End file.
